Ten Years in West City
by idlyb
Summary: The fun, trials, and tribulations the Vegeta-Briefs family go through during the ten years between the Buu saga and the last episodes.
1. Return from Battle

A/N: I honestly have no idea when the last time I did a fan fiction was, and I don't think I've ever done a Dragonball Z one. In light of that, I appreciate any corrections and constructive criticism that comes my way. I've done my best to keep them true to their characters so if anyone feels a part is too 'off' let me know. Thank you!

Bulma glared anxiously out the front of the aircraft. 'Stupid technology, need to upgrade this and make it faster…' Her fist gripped the steering wheel even harder, causing the heiresses knuckles to turn white. The vehicle was zooming along at full speed, but full speed wasn't enough for her tonight. It had been two hours since the arrival of the Z fighters on Kami's lookout and the excitement she felt seeing that Vegeta was back halo-free had worn off and left her with many questions. Vegeta leaned against his window, clearly exhausted, but that's what a day of fighting, death, temporary 'life,' fighting, and resurrection will do to someone. Trunks napped in the back seat, blissfully unaware of the volcano that was building pressure in his mother's head.

Vegeta, however, was not so lucky. Though exhausted he could tell by the look on her face entering the craft and her body language at the moment that he was certainly in trouble. Those sudden jolts that conveniently made him bump his head on the window weren't lost on the prince either. He had expected that the woman would be extremely peeved with him but the actuality of having to wait for the eruption to occur was almost unbearable. She may return to her habit of yelling for a few hours followed by either avoidance or sex. She may start sobbing uncontrollably once Trunks was in bed which could either lead to avoidance or sex. She may just ignore him for a few days once they returned, which never, ever led to sex. Not that he blamed her, it's not like he DIDN'T blow up half of a stadium full of people and part of the surrounding city. She had every reason in the world to be mad and the prince of all Saiyan's was one of the few people in the universe who could handle it.

The gold and white dome that was the Capsule Corporation building came into sight. Bulma called over her shoulder to wake her son and started the descent into the front yard. By the doorway her father and mother were waiting, cookies in hand. They waved cheerfully and Trunks began stirring in the backseat. Vegeta merely nodded and prepared himself to exit the craft. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to them, especially Bulma's mother who was always so proud of the 'big, strong man' that had saved the earth and chosen her daughter. 'Normally,' he thought, 'I would not be so opposed to her ranting and raving.' However, this was different because even though Mrs. Bunny Briefs was quite proud of Vegeta, he had a strong feeling her daughter was not.

As soon as the plane had landed to door opened and Trunks came bounding out. He wanted to be the first to tell the older Briefs' exactly what they (more specifically, he) had done in the fight against Buu. While his mouth ran at 100 miles an hour his grandparents barely noticed the silence that his parents were moving in. About half-way through him explaining the fusion dance Bulma decided to speak up.

"Well Trunks, now that Buu's gone you'll have plenty of time to tell them every detail of what happened later, so I think it's time for you to get a shower and get to bed."

"But mo-om" the small boy looked up at his mother with slight tears in his eyes.

"Listen to her, it's late and you need rest."

The half-Saiyan sighed in defeat and slowly made his way into the building, his doting grandparents following in hopes of getting more snippets of information out of him. The boy hadn't noticed the irritation in Bulma's face when Vegeta reinforced her decision and both of them were grateful for that. They silently made their way into the building and up to the bedroom. It was nearly midnight and for once neither of them felt like training or working. Bulma sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Vegeta to close the door before opening her mouth.

"You know, you may think that because you got your life back with our wish and the dragon decided you were pure of heart that you're off the hook for all the stuff that happened with Babidi but it doesn't."

Vegeta just stood silently in the corner. It was going to be a long night.

"Well? Are you going to explain yourself or just stand there?" She tried keeping her voice down for Trunks' sake but the man before her was infuriating!

"Where would you like me to start?" Vegeta cringed inwardly. Even though he would always be the proud Saiyan prince a part of him wanted Bulma to know the changes he'd been through. He just needed to think of a way to word them and he needed her to ask the right questions. However, that last comment was definitely going to set her off in his opinion.

Surprisingly to both of them, it didn't. The blue-haired woman just looked up at him, trying to decide where to start. "Look, Goku told me that you allowed the horrible creature to help take control of you, and that he wasn't worried about anything like that from you again, but I'm finding it hard to believe. I thought I had you pretty figured out. You were proud, but you weren't stupid, you knew what it could do to you. I guess what I'm asking is, what were you thinking while he was trying to control you?"

"I thought I wouldn't have to worry about a family anymore, that I'd be the same cold prince I always was. And I'd finally be strong enough to destroy him."

Bulma's heart sunk. She looked in his eyes, hoping to find some glint to show her it was just his dark humor, but there was nothing of the sort. He was more serious than she could remember ever seeing him.

"Is that why you blew up the stadium right near us? We really didn't matter to you anymore, so what the hell, why not?"

"If I wanted to hit you, I could have. I wasn't just trying to get Kakarrot to fight me elsewhere. I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was still powerful. And dangerous."

His answers were nowhere near putting her at ease, but she wasn't finished yet. Bulma ran through her list of questions, trying to figure out where to go from there.

"Why did you sacrifice yourself to try and kill Majin Buu? Why didn't you just wait and join the others?"

Vegeta looked out the window. It looked oddly beautiful out, considering just hours ago none of this existed. It was a crisp night, but there was no wind in the air and the trees were just looming over the grounds, like they were protecting it from the full moon. Many years ago, that moon would have sent the prince into a rage, turning him into a giant killing machine. But, as Vegeta had learned very quickly over the last couple of days, sometimes things have to change.

"Even if Babidi was gone, I'd still have his wickedness in me. Unless you know of a few wizards who can release the spell there was almost no other way."

Bulma bowed her head and tried to take in all this new information. It was starting to make sense, and it definitely fit into everything the other fighters were telling her about the events. Regardless, there was still one question looming over her mind.

"How do I know you don't feel the same now? That you'd rather be off fighting monsters in space than be here on Earth with me and Trunks?" Her eyes stayed right on his. She felt like this answer could either break her heart or heal it and honestly, deep down, she wished she never asked.

"Because I'll never be stronger than Kakarrot."

Her eyes widened and her face showed visible confusion. Vegeta just stood in the corner, staring out the window as he had been this whole time, as if this was a clear answer to her question. Biting her lip, she tried to figure out what this meant to him. Sure, it was never a phrase she ever thought she'd hear in her whole life but what did that mean anyway?

It hit her suddenly, looking at his face. She had honestly expected this to turn into their biggest fight. She didn't know if he'd stay around long enough for her to get her answers. She wasn't even sure she would. There had been no yelling, no shouting, no throwing, just fairly calm talking. And looking at his face, more specifically his eyes cleared it all up for her. This wasn't the face of a man avoiding the issue or cockily stating things matter-of-factly. This wasn't the face of a man coldly giving her facts. He almost seemed… content. Bulma couldn't remember him looking this calm before.

It all made sense. Vegeta wasn't upset that Goku was stronger anymore. No, he had really accepted the fact that they were both powerful fighters, but Goku would always have the edge. Accepting this got rid of his need to defeat Goku and his hunger for power. He wouldn't allow this to happen again.

Bulma stood up and walked over to him. The sudden movement caused him to look over and Vegeta watched her eyes to try and make out what she was thinking. She didn't look angry or confused. In a way, he thought, maybe she even looked happy. A small smile spread over her lips, confirming his judgment.

"So, no more blowing up stadiums and death and destruction and all that stuff?"

Vegeta returned with his signature smirk, allowing her to hug him and even returning the favor. The female sighed contently and went over in her head all the ways this could be a new chapter in their life.

A/N: WHOO! DONE! I know it's short but I felt like I needed this to get out of the way so they could move on. If someone has any suggestions about this feel free to help me out. I know there was a rather quick personality shift between pre-Buu Vegeta and Dinner Party at CC Vegeta. I'm hoping this'll help fill it in and flesh out what I think the Vegeta they were trying to give us was like.


	2. A party at Capsule Corporation

Vegeta woke up from his slumber and glanced around at the clock. His eyes jumped open as the 5:40 glowed off the nightstand, filling the area with the faintest of light.

'Ah, only a month after Buu and I'm starting to sleep later. This is pathetic.' He slowly got out of bed and walked to the dresser, pulling out sweatpants and a shirt, his usual training attire. While changing he noticed the faintest signs of the rising sun outside their window. He grumbled and pulled on his shoes, preparing to enter the gravity room and continue his training, for as he put it 'one must not go soft in times of peace.'

Stealthily he exited the bedroom and made his way downstairs. He hadn't quite mastered cooking, per se, but he had achieved his goal of pouring a couple bowls of cereal for breakfast. He would return at 8 and eat his real meal with the rest of the family but now was training time. He paused at the doorway to the training room and thought to grab Trunks for some early morning work-out sessions but decided the better option would be to let him sleep. He really didn't need a tired nine year old boy whining around him all night at the little party tonight that Bulma wanted to throw.

He knew a part of him had changed when that dread that usually filled him whenever he heard the phrase 'Vegeta, I'm having a get-together tonight, be nice,' hadn't affected him quite as much as every other time. The prince was definitely nowhere near the point of excitement, but maybe party food would be nice. His woman and brat would be pleased and entertained. Nothing terrible would really come of it.

* * *

><p>Bulma slept peacefully through his training session and awoke at seven o'clock, just enough time to shower, change, and cook enough food for two armies and herself. By 7:30 the waffles were in the waffle maker and the toast was in the toaster and she allowed herself to relax before waking up the sleeping half-Saiyan upstairs. Her eyes started to droop as she allowed her head to rest on her arm. By 7:32 the woman was asleep and by 7:35 Bunny Briefs was standing over the toaster putting in new bread.<p>

Trunks slowly rolled over on his bed. A faint buzzing was coming out of the alarm clock next to his head but at that moment he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Of course he had to get ready; there was a lot of decorating and preparing for the day ahead. Guests would start arriving around one so an early day was needed to get the house clean and the bots ready. Trunks still didn't know why exactly HE needed to be the one to help, but his father volunteered him and it meant Goten was coming over so he accepted it.

As the young Saiyan made his way downstairs he could already smell the delicious food's scent wafting through the air. Running downstairs he saw his mother still slumped over her arm, completely asleep and his grandmother humming away while she grabbed more butter out of the fridge. Trunks walked up to the younger Briefs and gently shook her arm.

"Mom…" he whispered. "Breakfast is almo-"

"BREAKFAST?" She jumped up, nearly knocking the younger Saiyan over and turned to see her mother cheerfully catching the last pieces of toast. Bulma let out a sigh and laughed. "Wow, thanks mom, I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."

The older lady just smiled. "Don't worry about it. As long as you don't nap through your party I think you'll be safe."

Bulma smiled and felt a wave of excitement once again. She'd been planning this party for two weeks and for once everyone would be there. Goku and chi-chi and the kids, Krillin's clan, Yamcha and Puar, even Piccolo. All for this peaceful time.

Vegeta entered the room wiping sweat off his face with a towel. Bulma's mother had sat a plate in front of her with a large waffle and two pieces of buttered toast. She slowly nibbled on the corner while her mother split up the rest of the waffles between the other two. Through breakfast Trunks rambled on and on about all the hanging out and partying he was going to do while Vegeta pretended to pay attention while keeping his eyes on Bulma. She was definitely spaced out, her eyes never leaving the window. Usually she was the one who took control of the listening to Trunks part of parenthood but her head was so wrapped up in what to do and what to wear and who will come that she basically ignored the other people seated at the table.

* * *

><p>Noon time had come around and Bulma cheerfully finished programming the last of the bots for tonight's feast. Guests would be arriving any moment now and she needed everything to go off perfectly. She WAS Bulma Brief's after all and of all people SHE needed to know how to throw a party. She turned the machine on, moved the punch bowl one last time, warned her partner to be nice and reapplied a light coat of lipstick just in time to hear a crash through the door. Smirking, she knew who it had to be. Luckily, she'd sent her son out there a few minutes ago to start receiving people. 'Hopefully he stopped Yamcha's car from doing too much damage,' she thought. She definitely should have offered him a less powerful vehicle.<p>

As more people started entering she made her rounds and took in the scene. Trunks and Goten were running around with a little Marron tagging along at their heels. Vegeta was off in the distance with Piccolo, their mouths moving but she couldn't hear a word coming out. By the buffet table, Yamcha and Krillin were piling food onto a plate and laughing about life with an android wife while 18 rolled her eyes from the other side, a small smile sitting on her face. Oolong and Master Roshi started going through an old photo album he brought, holding it up to compare everyone and laughing merrily while the trusty turtle ate pieces of bread dropped on the floor. Hercule and Buu sat at a table, laughing as they watched the puppy named bee chase after Puar in hopes of getting the treat the flying shape-shifter was teasing him with. Chi-Chi straightened up Gohan's hair by the table while he and Videl blushed from embarrassment. Even Tien and Chiaotzu were enjoying a nice conversation with Dende by the flowers. It was a perfect sight, minus one person, but Bulma knew better than to bring Goku up right at the moment. Everyone had comment on his lack of presence, it was best not to set Chi-Chi off any more.

After a couple of hours the food started to settle and the conversation died down. Bulma knew that she needed to kick this barbecue up a notch; it had to be the greatest night ever.

"LET'S BOOGIE!"

Half of the gang took to the floor and started having fun, enjoying the music and the lights show. She looked over and saw her little half-Saiyan happily dancing along with his friend which caused Bulma to smile. 'Well, maybe he's not all Vegeta after all! He's got a little me in there.' She went to glance over at her prince when the sight nearly floored her. Not only was he tapping his fingers on the table along with the music, Piccolo seemed to be patting his foot in time with the beat. It was almost unbelievable and made her smile widely.

Of course, this little moment was cut short rather quickly when everyone started stepping to the side to watch Gohan and Videl get a special little dance in. She more than happily joined them and clapped along merrily. All of a sudden the moment was lost when Chi-Chi stepped in the middle of them, showing them how to 'really dance.' This, of course, ended up being one of the highlights of the party but she seemed happy and that made Bulma happy.

Vegeta sat in his chair, Puar floating overhead and the larger Namekian standing nearby. "I never really thought you to be the party type," Vegeta commented over the loud music.

"You're one to talk Vegeta," Piccolo said with a smile. He wasn't sure what to make of this 'new Vegeta' but he definitely felt it was an improvement over the old one.

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden stop in music and a bent over Chi-Chi. "Give me a senzu bean and I'll be alright!" She said, which lead to laughter amongst the gang and even a chuckle out of Vegeta. The laughter was cut short with the mention of Goku, giving the room a solemn feeling.

"It's just not the same without him…" Bulma mused aloud, giving voice to everyone's feelings.

"Gosh, you really care for Goku," the other woman said teasingly. "Hey, I know! How about we trade mates? Vegeta for Goku!"

Bulma looked at the other woman, trying to figure out exactly where this joke was going and hoping it wouldn't set off her prince, who had been very polite and patient during this whole party, into some sort of embarrassing tirade.

"Vegeta's not as sweet but he's certainly more dependable. I think it evens out." This sent the crowd into a giggle, even Bulma herself, but as she looked over, expecting a scowl or frown she noticed an amused smile grace his face.

"Hey, I'm available ladies," Yamcha jumped in. "What do you say?"

"We're talking an even trade! We don't want a downgrade." For once, Bulma decided, Chi-Chi managed to be the life of the party.

This banter seemed to lighten the mood of the gathering greatly and it continued on its merry way. Master Roshi sat down and began a rousing game of poker with some of the adults while others watched from the side. Piccolo caught the attention of the two smaller half-saiyans with tales of how he was the one to train Gohan which amused them greatly. Bulma swooned over Marron who was happily sitting in her mother's arms, talking about how great it would be to have a mini-her running around ("That boy is too much like his father") and Krillin watched peacefully as the sun set.

"Well, I think it's time to get going…" he mentioned as the sun dipped lower behind the horizon.

A few friends followed behind to say good-bye to the first group to leave, most of them feeling the same want to crawl into bed. As the three turned and began to exit a man came bursting through the door like his life depended on it. Then on, if you're married to Chi-Chi and hours late to a party you were supposed to go to with her your life may actually be in danger.

"GOKU!" The room burst out into excitement, people dropping their cards and jumping up to get a look at the man who was six hours late to a party. One person unfortunately did not share in the cheer.

"Where's your mother?" Goku whispered to his son, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she was sitting somewhere having a grand time without him. This was not his lucky day.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHERE I AM! ON LONELY STREET. When you were dead you had an excuse but now it's just shameful neglect." The other members of the party tried to stifle giggles at this outburst. It had been expected at this point if he did manage to show up it wasn't going to be pretty.

"But… if you could only see those eggs…" His goofy grin seemed to have a cooling effect on his wife, much to everyone's joy.

Part of Goku's punishment wasn't a restriction of food, much to his joy, so he sat down at the table to eat while everyone gathered around, listening to a strange tale of saving dinosaur eggs and attacks by giant fish. It was an interesting tale and seemed to make everyone forgive him for the long delay to the party.

Goku laughed and glanced around at the gathering of all his friends and family over these past years. He couldn't remember the last time all of them were together, and especially in such a social setting. He gave it one last glance and noticed that a certain prince happened to be missing. His eyes roaming the room again he noticed the man leaning against the wall right near the window, away from everyone else.

"Vegeta, what are you doing over there?" the taller Saiyan enquired. "Come over here with us."

Vegeta smirked as everyone added their own little encouragements and walked closer by Bulma, still a good foot from the rest of them. Goku let out a hearty laugh. "Well, it's a start."

The party naturally wound down and people were departing in groups until it was down to the Brief's family. Bulma looked around and sighed, not feeling any sort of energy in her to clean up at all. Trunks had already retreated to bed as soon as the last person left, exhausted from playing. Vegeta leaned against a wall, clearly worn out from the adventure of the day. It was nearly midnight and the prince had wanted to wake up early to fit in some of the training he missed today.

While surveying the damaged he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he noticed his mate looking up at him with a half smile and a glitter in her eye.

"Well, don't you look amused," he offered, clearly confused.

"Well, I think this is the first successful party I've ever held that you didn't sulk off or blow something up. I'm impressed."

He smirked. "I'm glad I could please you by acting normal."

"Hey, monkey boy," she said teasingly. "I'm just happy you didn't blow up over the teasing you got from Chi-Chi and Goku. I think someone," she moved in closer and let her eyes drop seductively. "Someone deserves a reward."

* * *

><p>AN: My favorite part of this episode was the argument over Vegeta between Bulma and Chi-Chi while he just stood there with his "bitches love me" smile. Probably even my favorite from the saga. Also, I always imagined Piccolo to be the closest person (creature? Living things?) that Vegeta had to a friend. From here on out it'll be more "original" work so hopefully it'll be longer and more detailed =]


	3. Birthday parties and mild destruction

Bulma groggily turned over in bed but forced herself up. It was six in the morning, the alarm was beeping, and the Prince of all Saiyans was enjoying his once-weekly day of sleeping in. Of course that day had to fall on Trunks' birthday this week. She decided it was for the best, since during the past 9 years he hadn't mastered the concept of 'children's birthday parties.' She'll just get his assistance on the heavy things when he woke up.

She had slowly managed to make her way down the stairs without falling and nearly collapsed on the table. She focused on her mantra, repeating it to help her stop from collapsing on the nearest bed-like piece of furniture. 'Cake… cake…' Finally reaching the kitchen she headed straight for the oven, turning it on and allowing it to pre-heat. Reaching below the oven she pulled out two small round baking pans and some oven mitts from the drawer. Placing these on the table she grabbed the mixer and began pouring the ingredients she'd set aside the night before. After three minutes of mixing, and twenty-five minutes of baking she was on the phone with the nearest bakery shop requesting a large cake, "ASAP!"

Vegeta woke Trunks up an hour after Bulma's attempted cake fiasco. He gently shook the young Saiyan, calling his name in a small voice.

"Trunks… Trunks… TRUNKS!" Finally, the young boy woke up and glanced up.

"Dad, it's soo early. What is it?"

"Time for training, that's what."

Trunks grumbled and put his head under the pillow. "But it's my birthday" the boy whined. "And my friends are coming over later."

"All the more reason to train no-"

"VEGETA!" A woman's shout sent both of the proud warriors into a startled jump. "Let him sleep. It's his birthday, not yours, so he gets what HE wants."

The older man glared over at his woman and gave a small grunt but the petite female at the door continued glaring at him, her feet apart and her arms crossed. Backing down, he patted the boy on the head. "Rest up for your party, then. I don't need your mother yelling at me all afternoon."

Bulma gave a smug look and turned back around to prepare her living room for the day ahead. This wouldn't be a big party, as Trunks wished, but still the Son's were coming over and her father and mother had freed up the schedule for the afternoon. 18 may even be bringing Marron over so there were more kids. She had arranged for a bug and animal lady to come by part way through the party to amuse the children, and maybe a few adults too. It was small, it was fun, it was perfect and nothing would ruin her son's birthday.

Not that any had been ruined, exactly. His first one fell right before the androids arrival so his father was out in space training and all of her friends were occupied, but he was a baby so it didn't really matter if other people were there or not. His second and third went by smoothly, especially with the arrival of Goten. The fourth is when things started getting rough. The fifth is when Vegeta started actually taking over his 'father' role with some seriousness. The problem was, Vegeta's idea of the perfect birthday was going off in the wilderness to train and Bulma's and Trunks' was not. His ninth birthday got wrapped up in the excitement of Buu's defeat, but there was a barbecue for everyone so he forgave it. No, his tenth would be perfect, whether he liked it or not.

The cake arrived perfectly decorated. It was a nice simple sheet cake, purple, with the phrase "Happy Birthday Trunks" in big simple letters. Bulma knew from experience with this bakery that the cake would be delicious. It was nearing time for the party and Trunks' grandparents had already carried his wheelbarrow full of toys over from their smaller building near the house ("The In-law Inn," as Bunny had dubbed it) and were placing the presents down and getting drinks. They sat down next to Bulma, who was wearing a flattering new pink dress purchased just for this gathering and Trunks, whom she had convinced to wear a black button up shirt and well-fitting jeans. She had also purchased a similar set for the Saiyan prince to wear today and her "cute little idea" was not lost on the man. Still, he wore it; it's not the worst outfit she ever gave him. The doorbell sounded and Vegeta got up to answer, leaving the rest of the group happily sitting around the couches in the living room.

Opening the door he was greeted by a small squeal. "Mister Vegeta!" The small child who looked like a perfect mesh between her mother, 18 and father, Krillin, bounded through the door. Behind her Krillin and the android stood in normal clothes, her looking bored and him grinning wildly, present in hand. 'A Kakarrot grin...' thought the prince.

"Hey Vegeta, long time no see! Is everyone here?" the short man asked, entering the building as the prince stepped out of the way.

"No, Kakarrot and his offspring are running a little late," he grumbled. Vegeta decided to accept the fact that he would never be a 'party-host' kind of person.

Before he had time to shut the door he heard shouting from the other side. Walking up the sidewalk, waving his hand and smiling, neared Goku. Pushing ahead and bounding inside went little Goten while Chi-Chi and the older son of Goku trailed a few steps behind. "Nice day, isn't it!" He mused.

"Yes, very nice." Vegeta also decided that weather talk was his least favorite form of talk.

Everyone sat their presents down in front of the now-off fire place and sat around laughing. The last time most of them had seen each other was at Bulma's gathering nearly a year ago and there was much to catch up on. The women gathered on one sofa, whispering and pointing and giggling (except for eighteen, who just held an amused smirk during most of the conversation and wasn't really a 'talker'.) The boys were playing with some action figures Trunks had stashed under a table while Marron giggled in delight. Goku and Krillin sat on the other sofa, retelling adventures of their childhood together and laughing merrily. Vegeta sat on one of the two main recliners with Mr. Briefs on the other. Both watched the boys with faint amusement, the latter puffing lightly on a pipe. All in all it was very peaceful.

"Alright everyone, I think we need some cake!" Bulma shouted, winking. The boys bolted into the kitchen while the rest of those present followed suit. Candles were lit and blown out in rapid succession, a song was sung by most of those present and pieces of the delicious treat were cut and distributed to the guests. Trunks and Goten swallowed them whole while guessing what the wrapped boxes in the other room contained. Chi-Chi had been very smart to purchase and wrap the gift away from the prying eyes of her youngest son.

The natural next step was to open presents. These included a variety of games from his grandparents, along with a nice new bike ('don't they know I can fly?' he thought to himself), clothes from his parents (new taller shirts and pants from his mother, larger training gear from his father to be a bit more specific), a very interesting martial arts book from Krillin ("Hey! You managed to find a book I might read." "TRUNKS!" "I was just kidding, mom…") and a few more action figures from the boys' favorite TV show from the Son family. All in all, Trunks would count his birthday haul a success.

Once more there was a ringing at the door, which confused the rest of the party goers except for Bulma. Preparing herself, she gave a little speech as she walked to the door.

"Now guys, I know it's a little cheesy but I got us some entertainment for today."

"It's not a clown, is it?" Trunks enquired, blushing partly of embarrassment, partly from the memory of Vegeta and his 8th birthday party.

"No, this is a little more mature, I think everyone might enjoy it."

Disappearing around the corner she reappeared with a lady pushing many different cages and tanks on a cart. The youth got excited and even Goten, Goku, and Krillin were interested in what this lady might have brought to show them. Helping clear off the coffee table they pulled it back and the lady resituated the display on her cart.

"Well," the young woman asked pleasantly. "Who's the birthday boy here?" Trunks' hand shot up and the excitement over the events taking place were evident from his large smile.

"I think I may need your help first," she said, winking. Happily the young half-Saiyan jumped up and stood in front of her. "Now, are you afraid of snakes?"

The young boy laughed and shook his head. "Well, that's good, this one's harmless anyway since we had him de-fanged but if you ever find one of these in the wild you definitely don't want to approach it!" She pulled out a red, yellow, and black snake. She proceeded to tell them the difference between the King snake and the Coral snake, pointing to the different colors. It certainly kept everyone enthralled, though out of the corner of his eye Goku swore he saw a certain Prince of all Saiyans squirm.

"Well, how about you help me next?" the lady pointed to Goten, who was shaking in anticipation. "That is, unless you're afraid of spiders…"

"No way, I can handle it!" She laughed and pulled out a little tank that appeared empty, giving Bulma and Chi-Chi near heart attacks.

"Don't worry," she claimed. "This one's called a trap-door spider. If we were mice who were walking by, this spider would seem to appear out of nowhere and take us down to our lair. Luckily, we aren't mice" she added with a warm smile, noticing the growing apprehension on young Goten's face. She slowly tapped twice on the side of the tank and this seemed to draw the spider out of its hiding space. It popped up through the sand and crawled out into view. The woman stuck her hand into the tank, pulling the spider out and allowing it to crawl on her arm. "Your turn now!"

Goten glanced around at his parents, hoping for some encouragement. "Go ahead, Goten," said his older brother. "You're too big; it won't want to hurt you." This seemed enough and he put his hand on her arm and allowed the spider to step onto him.

"Hey, this is kinda cool! It tickles," the young boy giggled. Bulma praised herself on the inside; this was one of her best ideas ever!

"Now, let's put him back and move on." Replacing the lid of the tank she pulled out another one, which seemed empty aside from the mud layering the bottom. "This one feels more your speed," she said, smiling at Marron.

The little girl walked over and stared in curiosity at what could be in this one. "Now, it's not scary, but it is slimy," the youngster made a face at these words. "Don't worry though, we're not going to touch these, I just need your help adding water to draw them out."

Mr. Briefs, who had been puffing away and watching with mild amusement at the display before him, noticed on odd twitch coming from the hand on the other arm rest. He glanced over and Vegeta's face seemed ghostly white, almost blue-ish in hue. The older man glanced between the prince and the tank, curious as to what could set him off more than a spider freely crawling around his home.

Marron grabbed the small bottle of water the lady handed her and began pouring it into the tank. Seconds later, little pink head seemed to break through the surface, wiggling around in confusion.

"Ewwww," exclaimed the little girl, sticking her tongue out. "I'm glad I didn't have to touch them."

"I agree!" said the naturalist, nodding. "Earthworms are pretty gross to handle but they are ness-"

She was quickly cut off by an explosion from the tank, causing everyone to panic and look around. On one side, standing above his chair, hand glowing and hair golden blonde, was the prince himself.

"VEGETA! What the hell?" Bulma shouted. That was another source she was going to have to cross off her list of great party ideas.

"Did you not see the vile horrors that were coming out of that tank, woman? You should all be thanking me! Uugh!" The prince stormed off while the naturalist just stared at the place where her tank had formerly been sitting. She'd heard the Briefs' place had weird personal parties but this was insane!

"What on earth was that about?" 18 asked, looking at the mate of the man who destroyed perfectly fine earthworms. "He could have hit Marron." She patted the head of the little girl who looked more than a little startled.

"How should I know? He's crazy I guess. He's never attacked bugs before!"

"Actually…" Everyone looked over to the couch Goku was sitting on and waited for an explanation. "Vegeta really isn't a fan of worms. Just worms. I have no idea why, but I found out when we were in Buu's body. A bit funny, isn't it?" Goku laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"He never told me," Bulma huffed, sitting back in her seat.

"It's probably a pride thing," Goku offered. "He didn't exactly tell me either."

"Umm," Trunks' blush had worn off just enough for him to talk. "What are we going to do about her?"

Everyone looked at the lady who hadn't moved an inch since the incident aside from her eyes, which darted around, hoping someone also agreed that this wasn't normal.

"Well Trunks," Bunny offered. "I'm sure we can afford to buy this nice young lady some new wormies, especially after she had to meet your father."

Her little quip sent everyone into a giggle. Chi-Chi helped her pack her cart back up and Bulma followed her out, handing her money and apologizing over and over again. She finally managed to get the girl to take the 150 dollars (20 for the worms, the rest for a nice therapy session) and waved goodbye, trying to remain cheerful. Once the car was out of sight her smile turned into a bone chilling scowl as she turned to face the building once more. She slammed the door open and all the laughter in the kitchen stopped. Bulma Briefs was met with eyes and silence.

"Where. Is. Vegeta."

"Now sweetie," Mr. Briefs said, trying to calm his clearly angered daughter. "Maybe now is not the time. After all, it IS Trunks' birthday and it IS his party. After the party, you may yell."

Bulma seemed to puff back down to normal size and let out a little sigh. "I guess you're right."

After the entertainment the party began to wind down and everyone departed.

"Thank you guys for the presents!" Trunks yelled from the door. "Please come again!" he waved as the cars took off into the distance. Bulma, however, stayed fuming at the kitchen table.

"Uhh, Mom? I think I'm going to go play with my new video games grandpa and grandma got me, okay?"

"Of course, sweetie," she answered, trying to keep her voice calm though a vein was clearly showing in her temple. "I'm going to go find your father."

Trunks gulped and headed upstairs while Bulma stood and headed for the hallway. Surprisingly, it sounded as if the gravity chamber was off. Sighing, she peeked inside anyway, just in case, and no one was there. She turned around and headed upstairs. No one was in the bathroom, no one was in her room, and no one was in the bathroom she shared with the man in their bedroom. Just as the woman was about to give up hope she noticed a slight breeze enter the room. Turning around, she realized the balcony door was slightly ajar and with the fading light she could see the outline of her partner sitting on the edge.

"Well, well, mister 'tough guy'." Bulma wanted to hide her anger, but she was finding it impossible.

"Why did you not inform me about the presence of worms?"

Bulma blinked. He had not turned around so she couldn't see his face, but he sounded serious. It was almost surreal to her that she even needed to have this exchange.

"I didn't know I needed to. Why didn't you inform me about your fear of worms? And was going Super Saiyan in front of that nice lady to fight EARTHWORMS really necessary?" She asked, mocking him with the same tone.

"I'm not afraid I-I just don't like them." He said, starting to turn to her. A faint blush was crossing his cheeks. "I ruined the brat's party, didn't I?"

"No," she said, starting to feel a tad guilty for coming on so harshly. "In fact, I think that little fiasco was the most amusing part of the whole party."

Vegeta grumbled and turned back to looking over the city. "Well, I'm glad someone was amused by this."

Bulma sighed. Sometimes it felt like she had two children instead of just one. "Vegeta, it was silly. Like none of the others have their weird phobias? I've seen way worse from half these guys, at least you had the guts to blow it up instead of run away." The man turned his head and she gave him a little wink. He returned the favor with a half smile.

"Do you think one of these years he'll actually have a birthday that he doesn't regret?"

"Honestly," she said, nearing him. "Not in this family he won't."

A/N: Whoo! I'm on fire, that's for sure. The next chapters'll be a little more in depth and hopefully I'll be able to get a little more banter in. This was definitely the most fun one to write yet, though. Please feel free to review!


	4. Learning

Trunks ran down the hallway holding a new magazine in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. The poor boy was running late for his father's training session and those occurrences never ended well. He couldn't even think of a good excuse, school was out and there was no help needed that he could have been partaking in. No, he just had to run to the gravity room, face the music, and beg for forgiveness.

Trunks neared the doorway and slowed down, collecting his strength and his thoughts before facing the door and marching in. 'Now or never...'

Opening the door he walked in, head bowed. "I'm sorry father, I don't know how I-"

Trunks blinked his eyes once or twice to make sure what he was seeing was correct. The room was perfectly clean and empty, like it hadn't been touched all day. There were scorch marks along the wall opposite of him, but he'd remembered exactly how they got there. There wasn't a soul other than him in there. The youth gave a slight jump of excitement and turned around to exit when his heart dropped.

'Father's never late…' Trunks thought. It was really only five minutes late, but Vegeta was always ten minutes early. 'I'm in trouble now!'

After five minutes of inward debating he headed quickly towards the kitchen, followed by the living room where his mother was happily watching her shows and then upstairs to the bedrooms. Both bathroom doors were ajar so there was no way he was in there. The balcony was empty and he wasn't waiting in the boy's room. Trunks sighed. Vegeta must be mad.

Finally deciding to check the yard in some hope he was out there he'd all but given up. Turning back to head in the building he tried to enjoy the view of the sun setting on the dome, seeing as how it could be the last chance he'd get for a while. Finally, on the very top he noticed a dark patch, Prince of Saiyans in shape sitting perched on top.

'I mean, he's obviously mad, maybe it's a good chance for me to run inside. It looks like he's looking up so I'm probably safe…' he mused. 'Then on, last time Dad waited to punish me it ended up being three hours of training instead of the usual two. Maybe I should just go up there.'

Blasting up he flew in the prince's line of vision and landed neatly beside him. The taller man continued to sit there, glancing up at the sky as the stars started coming into view. The boy sat down next to him, mimicking his position and searching above him to see what had caught his father's attention. Nothing seemed out of place.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Vegeta smirked and broke his gaze, glancing down at the young boy beside him. "I could tell you were going to be late the second I saw you with your little magazine. No, you're not. Maybe today was a poor time to train anyway."

Trunks looked up confused. "Why, was it your birthday Dad? Did we forget?" the youth jumped up in a panic attack. He hadn't even gotten him a present or a cake or helped make a special meal.

Vegeta watched in amusement. "No, it's not that, son. Do you remember me telling you that you're a prince of a long gone planet?"

Trunks scratched his nose and regained composer. "Yeah, it was named after you, right? And my grandfather was the King and Frieza blew it up because he's a bad guy," the boy offered, trying to remember all the details.

"Yes, he annihilated it, 40 years ago today."

Trunks gasped and looked at his father's face. It was unreadable and his eyes stayed on a specific spot above them. Trunks looked up. "Is that where it was?"

"Yes, Trunks. If you use one of your mother's nice telescopes you could probably see all the floating rocks from it still."

Trunks looked up in the sky, it seemed like the same sky as always to the boy, but he could tell from his father's stature that the man could see more.

"What were you like? Before you came to Earth I mean."

Vegeta leaned back on the dome. All day he decided now was the time to tell his son. It never struck him that it would be hard to find the words to say. After all, this was his offspring, he needed to know the truth, but he was also his mother's son. He could end up metaphorically exploding and Vegeta would be ostracized by his only child. The man had decided days ago though that it was a chance he had to take.

"I murdered people for a living."

Trunks glanced back, his face obvious with shock and his eyes searching, hoping to find that this was one of his father's 'dark humor' moments, but inside he knew this was somehow the most serious the prince had ever been.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I was one of Frieza's most reliable henchmen. Not really hard, considering the bunch, but considering I was so young I was seen by them as a prodigy," Vegeta scowled. "Not that that really keeps you from beatings, mind you."

"But, but…" Trunks tried to process this information. "What do you mean they beat you?"

"What sort of punishment do you get when you've misbehaved?"

"Extra time in the Gravity Room," the boy said. He didn't see how this was related.

"Well, imagine that tenfold, without me holding back. And I'm not doing it to make you better, I'm doing it simply because you're weaker than me."

Trunks winced and looked at his father. It was obvious that the man he called 'Dad' wasn't coddled as a child as he imagined a prince should be, but he hadn't imagined anything like that.

"How did you break free?"

"Well, one gets stronger in situations like that. Eventually I came to Earth, trying to destroy Kakarrot and this planet to get the dragon balls. My fellow employee got into a fight with Piccolo, killing him." Trunks look off in the distance, trying to imagine Piccolo and his father on opposite sides at all. "I didn't know that if you killed the ruler of earth the balls would turn to stone."

"Wow, he was really the ruler of Earth?" Vegeta looked over at his son whose eyes were wide with curiosity. 'Perhaps I'll still have a son after this.'

"Yes, it's a long story that I wasn't even here for but it's true. Dende took over since then, of course. So I went to find the ones on Namek-"

"Mom said that's the first time she ever saw you face-to-face."

"This is true. That's when Frieza interfered. That was the first time I died. They brought me back though and Kakarrot had the pleasure of finishing him off." A scowl appeared on his face.

"That's not fair!" Trunks' face showed obvious anger. "You should have been the one to kill him, after all he put you through!"

"This may be true son, but I was too weak then." Vegeta sat up again, reliving the details in his mind. Trunks' mouth opened in surprise. He never, ever heard his father call himself weak.

"So I returned to space, training and looking for Kakarrot. I came here when I couldn't find him. Your mother gave me a place to stay, clothes (a smirk crossed his face, 'devilish woman,') and a room to train in while we waited for the androids to arrive. Kakarrot had returned and some kid from the future came back to warn us about an attack by them."

"Woah, cool!" Trunks had heard about this in passing but he'd never gotten any details. Who knew he'd get it from his father, of all people? "Who was it, was it one of us?"

Vegeta smirked. "It was you."

"REALLY? Awesome! So I'm going to grow up and be strong and time travel?"

"Well, this was an alternate you, not you from our future." Trunks' smile fell immediately. "Besides, I think you'll be much stronger," he added, giving his son the closest thing to a smile he could.

"Yeah!" Trunks lay down, imagining what it would be like to meet his parents ten years ago. 'Interesting, that's for sure…'

"I don't get it though. If you're father's gone, why aren't you the king?"

Vegeta's nose scrunched and he looked at the younger Saiyan. "Back on Vegeta, if one king got too old he would pass the throne on to his oldest son in a very fitting ritual. However, if he were killed in battle a large ceremony had to be given by the prince in order to announce what has happened. It would be grand, the great hall of the palace would be decorated and the highest ranking officer who was present at the king's death and the highest ranking priest would present a new set of battle armor designed for the prince with the king's symbol on the chest. That never happened, so as far as I am concerned, I am not the king."

Trunks took it all in, eyes wide in awe. However, there was one last question nagging at him.

"So, how did you and mom, like…" the youth wasn't sure how to word the next part. "Get together?"

Vegeta gave him a look that deeply implied that he didn't want to answer this question at all. "Well… your mother and I… We just… lived together."

Trunks looked at him. 'That is a terrible answer…'

"And when you live with someone, you start to… worry about them. When they do nice things for you."

"So, you worried about mom, and then you had me?"

"Precisely."

Trunks rolled his eyes. If he ever really wanted to know, he was definitely going to have to go to his mother about this one. "But, didn't you turn super saiyan around the same time? And Goten said that his dad said that you turned super saiyan in space."

"Yes, and that is true…" Vegeta knew it was time. If his son didn't hate him this far along, he hoped he wouldn't hate him after this. "I left while your mother was pregnant to train in space."

Trunks stared, mouth agape. He didn't know what to make of this new development. "So… so you left us?"

Vegeta nodded. "However, I came back."

"TO FIGHT CELL," Trunks closed his eyes and tried to fight the little tears threatening to form on his eyes. This wasn't the story he'd imagined about them. He wanted to think of them being very different, falling straight into love, and staying to be the stoic, stern father he knew him as.

"Yes, that's true. If I didn't want to stay, though, I certainly didn't have to."

Trunks bowed his head and thought about this. It was true, Bulma couldn't stop him from staying once, what would make her capable a second time?

"So why did you stay?"

Vegeta tried to remember his exact thoughts when he made that decision. "When Cell killed you from the future, I went ballistic. Even if he wasn't you he was, in a way, still my offspring. I realized that I couldn't handle that. I also didn't want you to grow up anything like I had. You needed a father figure."

Trunks wiped his eyes and looked over at the sun. It was almost gone, the sky turning a deep blue as the last rays lit up what they could.

Vegeta waited for a response. He was expecting more shouting, or maybe a silent storm off. Trunks may run inside or he may fly off, to Kakarrot's or to the middle of nowhere for some alone time.

"Hey, Dad? I think we need to go inside, I think food's almost done."

Vegeta looked at his son, showing slight shock and nodded. "We don't need your mother yelling at us for being late to dinner."

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was working on two different chapters and two different papers. Fun stuff. Thank you!


	5. Educating

A/N: So due to a review (pallyndrome) I realized I wasn't happy with how I portrayed Trunks' emotions, and while I was going to re-tool a couple of parts of that chapter I thought of this. I really liked the bonding sections of the last chapter and every time I thought of how to fix my little problem I kept feeling like it would ruin the rest. Please enjoy!

Trunks placed the last of his dinner plates into the dishwasher and pushed the start button. After a slight pause the machine jumped to life and soon settled into a slow murmur as the water discharged and the cycle began. His father had gone to the gravity room for some after-dinner training and his mother had settled on the couch in the living room. He could hear the television flicker to life and the faint sound of a studio audience giggling came through the door.

The young boy neared the threshold between the two rooms while the events that took place an hour ago still played in his head. The whole conversation seemed so surreal at the time and now that he had time to ponder it he didn't even know what to think.

Sighing softly he pushed through the door and entered the living room, noticing his mother lounging on the couch paying complete attention to a couple whose date seemed to be going terribly awry.

The boy cleared his throat. "Hey, Mom?"

Bulma looked over her shoulder slightly annoyed, but her face softened when she noticed who it was.

"Oh, Trunks it's you. What is it sweetie?" The woman pushed the mute button on the remote.

Trunks walked over and sat on the couch while his mother turned to face him.

"I was just…" the questions came to mind, but how the conversation was to start eluded the youth. It would be easier to talk to his mother about what had happened, certainly, and he hoped to get more information. "Well, me and dad were outside earlier talking for a little while."

Bulma's eyes widened slightly in curiosity. She was certain that he had training planned that evening, what had changed?

"What did you guys talk about?"

"Just… you know, about stuff." Trunks knew he wasn't being helpful. "Mom, what were you like before you met Dad?"

"Well…" She wasn't expecting this conversation right after dinner, that's for sure, but the boy had always been curious, even when it got him into trouble. "As you know before I met your father I was dating Yamcha-"

Trunks chuckled. "Yeah, I still can't picture that one."

"Well, things between us were different back then. Times change. Anyway, I was basically the same as I am now. Maybe a little more worried about safety and the future but I was pretty much the same woman."

"But Dad wasn't the same man…"

Bulma nodded her head, suddenly realizing exactly where the conversation had gone. "He told you everything, huh?"

"Well, not exactly. He didn't give me any details, and I don't think I want them. I always kinda knew he was bad, I mean, whenever I asked Gohan or Piccolo they'd tell me that he was a totally different guy and then change the subject. I knew it couldn't be good."

Bulma sighed, leaning forward and pulling her legs up fully onto the couch.

"I had hoped he'd waited until you were older, ten is pretty young to hear this stuff, but yes, your father was a terrible man before, one of the worst."

"He sort of told me that, but he didn't really go into any detail. He also said he wanted to blow up the earth. Like he was Babidi or something." Trunks sat his head on his hand. He still couldn't picture his father as some sort of killer, not the same father that had given his life trying to protect them all from Buu.

Bulma noticed his distant look and tried to figure out what he was thinking. He face was twisted in his father's signature scowl but his eyes didn't appear angry. The woman was glad he wasn't there to witness Vegeta's destruction of the arena. 'Let's save some of his innocence…'

"Well, your father was raised to do that. That was his job. Where he was from, and where he lived, that was just a part of life."

"But who could live like that?" The boy jumped onto his knees, his eyes begging for an answer.

"Terrible people, Trunks. Awful, terrible people."

"How could you forgive him?"

Bulma leaned her head back. She had always wondered this, and every answer she came up with sounded stupid. 'I might as well give him the truth…'

"Well, mostly because I wasn't there for it."

"So? You knew."

"Yes, but when I really met your father he wasn't quite the cold-blooded planet-destroyer anymore. The time I REALLY met him was after Frieza was gone, when his job was no longer to end lives. Maybe that's why…"

"But you said the first time you saw him was on Namek."

"Yes, but it was only for a small amount of time. And trust me, I was TERRIFIED of him. But once it had blown over… I'm not sure how to explain it. I wasn't scared anymore. Maybe because I knew Goku could protect us or maybe it was because that was the start of his change. I'm honestly not sure. All I know is that I honestly wasn't afraid anymore."

"Was that when you fell in love?"

"No, but I think that's what started everything." She looked back, the memories flew by as she tried to piece them together. "I really think you should ask Goku and Gohan how they forgave him instead of me, the Vegeta I know will always be different than the one they know."

Trunks looked over at the TV. He still couldn't wrap his head around most of it. All he knew was his father was a bad guy, he changed, and now he's a good guy. Piccolo was the same, and he could understand that, so why was it so hard to grasp it about his father.

"Why do you think he changed?"

"Well, that's hard to pinpoint, because your father's a pretty complicated guy. I think though, when it really came down to it, it was you. Both of you," she gave him a wink in response to his confused look.

"Oh, you mean like future me? The guy who killed Frieza again and helped with the androids?"

"Yep, that you. I see he took it upon himself to inform you of that too. Oh well, I did want to see your face when you found out though. Yes, that's got to be it. When yourself from the future died he unleashed the strongest blast he'd seen short of Gohan's final blow. And this was even coming from Yamcha, who was still a little bitter about the break up at the time."

"So… Dad changed for me?"

"Well, among a few other things, but it was mostly you, yes."

"Do you think he'd still be a bad guy if it wasn't for me? Or us?"

Bulma leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling, her eyes twisted in concentration. "Well, I don't think he'd be a good guy, exactly. But I don't think he'd go back to his old ways. He'd still go off, train, try and take down stronger opponents, but he wouldn't try and destroy any more planets."

"So, deep down, Dad's an okay guy?"

"Yes, yes he is. He just got started on a wrong path, just like Piccolo, but he's got some good in him. He may not like to show it but he has his moments."

"Well, I guess if everyone else can forgive him, I can forgive him. Thanks mom."

Bulma looked over at him. He looked contended for the first time in their whole conversation.

"So… why did you guys fall in love?"

Bulma rolled her eyes. 'Why couldn't mister "Prince of All Saiyan's" handle this one?'

"Well, your father and I are not… typical. It's kind of a wonder that we even worked out. When your father came back from space, where he was trying to look for Goku, he needed a place to stay. I'd already offered and so he was stuck here. He was the last of his race and in time Yamcha and I split s-"

"How come?"

'Oh god, little boys and their questions…'

"Well, you know how Yamcha likes to talk to all the pretty girls when we all go somewhere? Imagine that, with a nice, pretty, young steady girlfriend."

"So he got in troooubleeee." The little boy laughed, the first laugh she heard all night.

"Oh yeah, so your father was one of the only full Saiyan's left and I'd had my heart broken so we…" She wasn't sure how to filter this for a ten year old's ears. "We just got together. And we stayed together."

Trunks leaned his head back. "And then I was born!"

'Sooner from the start than you'd think…' "Yep. And here we are now."

"Mom, thanks for telling me all that." The boy leaned forward and leapt of the couch onto the floor.

"No problem, sweetie. I've always been better at the talking, your father's always been better at beating up bad guys." She smiled. "That's how we work."

Trunks laughed and ran up to his room. Bulma let out one last sigh. "Well, that was harder than I thought it'd be…"

"Really? I found it to be easier."

Bulma looked up and noticed Vegeta entering the room, the glow from the TV reflecting off his body.

"How much did you hear?"

"From Yamcha. I figured you'd like that sort of stuff more."

Bulma was about to open her mouth and explain that she had to clean up some of his mess, but let it slide. 'I'll give him this one, someone needs "the talk" soon anyway…'

"Well, Mr. Prince," she purred. "I think we better get to bed soon." Winking, she stood up, turned off the TV and walked past him, making sure to brush up against him.

"You're insatiable, woman." She let out a laugh and went up the stairs, followed by her mate.

A/N: I hope that fixed it enough. Thank you!


	6. A death in the family

Bulma sat quietly and nibbled on her toast watching her two Saiyan's enjoy their breakfast. The kitchen had been nicely repainted, the tables had been nicely rearranged and the china had been nicely replaced. Her nice family was quietly enjoying a nice breakfast which she had spent an hour nicely preparing. Her nice husband and nice son were eating in a style typical to their race. It was all… so… nice…

"Vegeta, I think something's wrong."

"You can sense it too?" The man said in between mouthfuls of bacon.

"Yes… it's so… nice and quiet in here." Bulma glanced around at her partner and son, who were staring at her and still gobbling food. "We haven't argued about anything today."

"I know, Dad hasn't yelled at me once and it's been an hour."

"Yes, and Bulma, you haven't made one of your 'lists' for me to do today."

"Well maybe if you started doing stuff I wouldn't need to make these 'lists.'" She replied curtly, but without the usual fire she felt when they had these arguments.

"Mom, Dad, I think something's wrong," the young saiyan replied, swallowing the last of his food.

"Yes, there is no other reason for such peace," his father agreed.

Bulma nodded and glanced around. Absolutely nothing seemed out of place. She was finished the last of her food, the boys were nearly done with their breakfast, dishes were in the sink to be washed, and emptied breakfast plates were neatly piled on the table. Nothing appeared out of place. What could be wrong?

Then they all heard the scream.

As the three at the table jumped up in surprise the back door slammed open and Bunny Brief's ran into the room, sobbing hysterically. "He… he…" she tried to choke out the words but they wouldn't come to her.

"Mom," the younger woman said soothingly, grabbing the older woman's flailing arms. "Calm down, tell us what's wrong."

"He… he's DEAD!" Her response was followed by another flood of tears. Bulma dropped to her knees and stared up at her mother in shock. Trunks slammed his hands on the table with slight tears in his eyes while Vegeta watched the scene in confusion.

Trunks was the first to speak after a short moment. "Grandma, how can he be gone? I just saw him two days ago, this is impossible! He looked fine!"

"I know, that's what makes this even harder," she said, sniffling and wiping a tear from her eye. Vegeta continued giving the members of his family confused looks.

"But Mom, are you sure? I can't believe this; he was walking around here yesterday just fine!" Bulma managed to get out, keeping her tears barely contained.

"I know, sweetie, I know. But I saw him with my own eyes. It's such a tragedy to have a death in the family." The older woman's sobbing had returned to light sniffles, and her composure seemed to return to her.

"What on earth are you idiots going on about?" The Prince finally shouted, his confusion having given to frustration.

Bulma and Trunks shot him disgusted looks and were about to give him a verbal lashing when Bunny broke the silence. "Oh, Vegeta, I wouldn't expect you to understand. You weren't as close with him as the rest of us were…"

"Mom, that doesn't matter," the younger woman said, shooting a glare at her husband. "Vegeta, my father allowed you into his home, built and rebuilt you training rooms with me and fed your bottomless pit of a stomach. He even tried to actually talk to you instead of just assuming you were going to blow us all up. I know you weren't all 'buddy-buddy' with him but I can't believe his death means so little to you that-"

"Woman, what are you going on about? He's right outside their compound!" He shot back, not one to be berated in front of people.

"Bulma, your father isn't dead…" Bunny said, tilting her head in confusion. "He's outside preparing a spot for Scratch."

Trunks and his mother's chins nearly hit the floors. "So you're saying the cat is gone? Grandpa's fine?" The demi-Saiyan asked with hopeful eyes.

"Well, he's obviously very heartbroken, like me, but the cat lived a long life. He was older than you, Trunks."

Bulma allowed herself to breathe deeply before speaking to her mother. "So let me get this straight, Scratch passed away, Dad is fine, correct?"

"Yes dearest. His burial will be at noon and you're all expected to wear appropriate funeral attire. See ya's!" Mrs. Briefs walked out the door, ready to console her grieving husband again.

Everyone in the room exchanged awkward glances. No one was quite sure how to react to the news. Sure, the cat was considered part of the family, but it was just a cat to the younger family and though there may be times when the company of the odd feline will be missed, no one in the room considered it worth really mourning over.

"Well, I guess I better find you boys some nice black clothing then…"

Bulma, Trunks, and Vegeta neared the edge of the pathway leading to the back corner of the property, just on the other side of a large vegetable garden. The elder Mrs. Briefs stood sniffling into a handkerchief; a long and appropriate black dress was worn with a long and rather inappropriate black veil. Dr. Briefs stood over a small hole in the ground with a shoe box placed to the side which, Bulma assumed, held the remains of the long-time family pet.

Bulma slowed her pace and the two with her followed suit, obviously quite uncomfortable with the situation. She was wearing a simple knee-length black dress with long sleeves while who two boys were wearing nearly identical black button up shirts and slacks. As they drew closer Vegeta cleared his throat, signaling their arrival.

"Oh, you guys could make it, I'm glad. I hope we weren't keeping you from anything." Mr. Briefs had a very distressed expression on his face and his slightly bloodshot eyes gave way to the fact that he had been crying earlier that day. It made Bulma's heart shrink seeing him in so much pain.

"Of course you guys aren't, Dad. Scratch was a member of the family, we wouldn't miss it." She walked over to his unoccupied side and placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. He sighed and placed one of his hands over hers.

Vegeta and Trunks fell in between Bulma and Bunny Briefs, creating a nice circle around the soon-to-be grave site.

"I guess I better start then," Mr. Briefs said, sighing very heavily. He could feel a swell of emotion rise up again at the loss of his little furry friend and the two women in the group grabbed his hands in a comforting manner.

"Scratch, too long ago I found you," his voice began, very shakily. "You were just a kitten." He felt the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "You were nearly starving but when I saw your eyes…" He pushed a sleeve of his shirt to his face in order to calm his emotions.

Everyone stared at the ground, hoping to take any pressure of the man and allow him to continue.

"Oh, I don't think I can do this," he said with a small laugh that sounded more like a 'huff.'

"Sure you can, Grandpa," Trunks offered encouragingly. "It's okay to be sad sometimes."

"No, I don't think I'll be able to stop being sad long enough to talk," he replied, shaking his head. "Vegeta, I'm afraid as the next man of the house, you'll have to take over."

"What?" He asked in a deadpan manner, his eyes suddenly as wide as saucers. 'I took off of training for this?' he thought. He looked around at the similar surprised expression on his son, hopeful looks from his in-laws, and the ever famous 'Vegeta, if you don't do this I'll make you wish you were back in Hell' look from his mate.

Clearing his throat and weighing his escape options he decided that agreeing to go along would be the best, least painful option. After all, this man had built him the gravity room. Vegeta owed him.

"Scratch… was a cat," he started, trying to remember the earthling funerals from movies and the one held in Goku's honor after his death. Looking over at Bulma he saw her nod her head for him to continue. "When I first came to Earth, Scratch was here. I would sometimes find him walking up to me after I entered the house from training. He would then proceed to make cat noises. No matter how often I explained to him he did not understand that I did not speak his feline language."

Looking down at his son he received a small thumbs-up. Mentally he decided to never attend a funeral ever again. Deciding that the battle was already waged he pushed on. "As time went by the stupid cat grew on me. Sometimes I would be drinking milk and he would walk up and try to have some. I tried to tell him that this was a very rude gesture in Saiyan customs. I soon learned that if you pour him some milk in a small dish he would leave your milk alone.

"When I would watch the television I would sometimes find the thing in my hair. I did not wish for it to be in my hair, but it continued to sit there anyway. He would become angered if I tried to swat at my hair to get him out. He would try and scratch my hand even though I was larger than him and he was invading my personal space. He acted just as a warrior would. Some of us here would feel the human emotion of missing him. He was a good cat."

Vegeta looked over at his mate who flashed him a genuinely pleased smile. He exhaled in relief as Trunks lowered the box into its grave. Sobbing could be heard in the background as the small prince filled the hole.

The threesome departed to allow the eldest to grieve in peace. They hurried back into the compound and entered through the kitchen door.

"Bulma?" Vegeta inquired.

"Yes, Vegeta?"

"This will never happen again."

A/N: I know Scratch is supposed to be a girl but I needed to switch her gender to make the beginning of the story fit. Also, I've been working and going to school full time. I will try and put a little more effort into updating this, though!


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